Lira, Uganda | Long-standing tensions within Lango’s cultural leadership resurfaced this week after Pala Ocol Awitong, Dickson Ogwang Okul, announced his resignation as Minister of Foreign Affairs under the Lango Cultural Foundation (LCF), prompting a sharp response from Eng. Joseph Odongo Bongonyinge, the Foreign Affairs Minister (Awitim) of the gazetted Lango Cultural Institution (LCI) led by H.H. Eng. Dr. Micheal Moses Odongo Okune.
In a letter dated November 25, 2025, Ogwang Okul tendered his resignation to Rt. Hon. Fredrick Ogwal Oyee, whom he recognized as Prime Minister/Acting Won Nyaci of the LCF.
He described the decision as “painful but necessary,” citing the death of the late former Won Nyaci Mzee Yosam Odur Ebii and the need for personal reflection.
Ogwang Okul indicated that he would now focus on strengthening leadership within his Pala Ocol clan, supporting his family, advancing his diplomatic service in government, and promoting unity and reconciliation across Lango.
He appealed for forgiveness among the different cultural camps, urging the community to “release one another from the burdens of the past” during the period of mourning.
However, in a rebuttal dated November 26, 2025, Bongonyinge, speaking in his capacity as AWITIM of the LCI, dismissed Ogwang Okul’s resignation letter as “disingenuous” and “self-serving,” accusing him of exploiting the mourning period for personal and political motives.
Bongonyinge’s response highlighted several concerns: that the letter was addressed to an “illegitimate office” within LCF, that it ignored recognition of the gazetted leadership of LCI under Eng. Dr. Odongo Okune, and that the use of reconciliation language appeared to serve personal advancement rather than genuine peacebuilding.
“The people of Lango need cultural cohesion and constructive development, not gestures that sideline the recognized leadership,” Bongonyinge said, urging Ogwang Okul to formally acknowledge the gazetted LCI authority as a foundation for meaningful reconciliation.
The developments come at a sensitive moment as Lango continues to mourn Mzee Yosam Odur Ebii, whose long tenure shaped both unity and division within the region’s cultural leadership.
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